Deduplicating data systems are often able to reduce the amount of storage space needed to store files by recognizing redundant data patterns. For example, a conventional deduplicating data system may reduce the amount of storage space needed to store similar files by dividing the files into data segments and storing only unique data segments. In this example, each deduplicated file stored within the deduplicating data system may be represented by a list of references to those data segments that make up the file.
While conventional deduplicating data systems may reduce the storage space required to store files, the mechanisms used by such conventional systems to manage deduplicated data may present unwanted limitations. For example, the storage space of a conventional deduplicating data system may become fragmented over time as a result of data segments becoming unreferenced and deleted at different rates. Moreover, because many files may reference the same data segments, many files stored within a deduplicating data system may become corrupt when certain data segments become corrupt. Accordingly, the instant disclosure addresses a need for additional and improved systems and methods for managing references in deduplicating data systems.